Enlisting
by clarinet-alto-4ever
Summary: After Kirk's encounter with Captain Pike at the bar, how does he come to decide to go ahead and enlist in Starfleet? A short one-shot.


A/N: This is actually my first Star Trek fanfiction. While I've been a fan all my life and grew up on reruns, I've never really written anything. I've had ideas and put down sketches for stuff previous to the movie being released, but this is the first thing I've actually accomplished. Not sure how fond I am of it; it's also one of my first fics that not centered around a romance, so bear with me.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything **Star Trek** related . . . though I certainly wouldn't mind owning Spock.

"I dare you to do better."

And with that, Captain Christopher Pike walked out the door to leave Jim Kirk sitting at the table alone.

Mostly sober, he sauntered out to his motorcycle and geared it up to drive home. _Join Starfleet. Who does he think he's kidding?_

Shaking the whole incident off, he left the city and started towards home at first, but soon changed directions. He had nowhere in particular in mind; he was just driving the back roads with nothing but the stars above his head.

_I dare you to do better . . . your father was captain of a starship for twelve minutes . . . I dare you to do better . . . aptitude tests off the charts . . . dare you to do better . . ._

The words echoed in his mind like a broken record. And then words of everyone else joined in the mix.

_You lazy bum! Go get a job! . . . . Country hick, go make something of yourself . . . What, are you just going to mooch off of your hardworking mother all your life?_

And then, the comforting words of his mother.

_Don't worry about it, dear. When the time is right, you'll find your place in this world."_

Only she understood him.

Only she understood when he came home from school with a black eye because he had gotten into a fight after the other boys had called him names for not having a father.

And that meant there was only one place he could go.

He raced home to find the house dark. It didn't matter. He had to speak to his mother.

Kirk went down the hall and knocked on his mother's and stepfather's door. He crossed his fingers and hoped she answered. He was in luck; his mother opened the door in her robe and slippers.

"Jim, what are you doing up so late? Is everything ok? Are you alright?"

He calmed her fears quickly. "I'm fine, Mom. I just need to talk to you."

"Of course. Shall we go out to the living room? I'll make a cup of tea."

Kirk sat down on the couch while she quickly heated up some water and dropped in two teabags. She set them down on the coffee table in front of her son and sat in silence waiting for him to speak.

He hesitated wondering if this was the right thing talking to his mother about this. _Of course it is; you can never go wrong talking to your mother,_ he admonished himself. Taking a deep breath, he began.

"Mom, I met Captain Christopher Pike this evening at the pub downtown. He was there with some Starfleet cadets . . ." he trailed off not knowing where to go now.

His mother gave a knowing smile. "Ah," she said softly, "he mentioned your father and the Kelvin, didn't he?"

Kirk looked up with surprise. "How did you know?"

"I've loosely followed his career after he called me some years ago to tell me how much he admired your father for what he had done. He said that after doing his dissertation on the Kelvin's destruction he could never look at being a captain of a starship or even an officer the same again. I've heard that nowadays he is a recruitment and training officer and apparently has quite a sharp eye for promising cadets."

She watched as her son inhaled sharply. Getting up to sit beside him, she reached over and took his hand in her own. "What else did he say?" she asked gently.

Kirk looked straight into his mother's eyes. "He asked me to enlist in Starfleet."

"And what did you tell him?"

He stood up suddenly, ran his fingers through his hair, and began pacing the room, frustrated with himself.

"I told him he had to be kidding. Who am I kidding for even considering it?"

"My son, why ever not? You're smart, intuitive, and clever. You have so much to offer the world. I think you and Starfleet would be good for each other. I always have."

He looked at her sharply. "You have? Why didn't you ever mention it to me?"

"I didn't want to push you into doing anything you didn't want to. I thought that if I continually brought up Starfleet to you, you'd feel it was your duty to enlist just as your father did."

He paced a few more minutes and then and sat back down next to his mother. "Do you really think I should enlist?"

"I think that the fact that you are even considering it, when you haven't given a second glance to any other kind of future for yourself is proof itself."

She smiled lovingly at her son and kissed him on the forehead and went back to bed.

Kirk sat there another hour or so and made his decision. He walked back to his mother's room, but passed the parlor on the way and noticed her sitting there reading. She looked up from her book, waiting for him to speak.

"I'll miss you, Mom."

"I'll miss you too, Jim. Be safe and I love you."

"I love you too."


End file.
